Lok Sabha Election Phase 7 Voting: Final phase of voting in West Bengal marred by sporadic incidents of violence

The seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal's nine parliamentary constituencies saw sporadic outbreaks of violence, particularly in Jadavpur and Diamond Harbour, where TMC, ISF, and BJP supporters clashed.

As reported by PTI, while election officials initially reported peaceful voting, they also acknowledged receiving 1,450 complaints by 11 am, mainly from political parties alleging EVM malfunctions and obstruction of agents from entering polling booths.

“Around 28.10 per cent of over 1.63 crore voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling to the nine Lok Sabha seats," an Election Commission official said.

Tensions escalated as clashes erupted between supporters of the TMC, ISF, and BJP across various regions of the state, stemming from disputes over preventing polling agents from accessing booths.

In Bhangar, located within the Jadavpur constituency, a confrontation ensued between Trinamool Congress and Indian Secular Front (ISF) supporters, with allegations of crude bombs being thrown from both factions.

Protests erupted as police intervened, with both factions accusing each other of inciting the violence. Security personnel resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd and restore order. During the intervention, several crude bombs were recovered from the scene.

Angry voters of Kultuli within Joynagar constituency took drastic measures by hurling electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VV-PAT) machines into nearby waterbodies. Their actions were fueled by feelings of electoral misconduct, reflecting their frustration over perceived voting restrictions.

"Today morning at 6.40 am Reserve EVMs & papers of Sector Officer near Benimadhavpur FP school,